Another evening and another study session. The sword in question this evening, a modified, single edged European back sword, converted in the Sahel into a double edged takouba. This is a particularly interesting sword showing great age (the blade is likely 17th century) with local modifications and an array of marks that make pinning down a likely point of origin much easier than usual.

The title of this small essay is of course purely a guess. This sword may have spent its entire life in the Sahel without going anywhere near Agadez, but there is equally a very good chance it did spend time in that area.

What is more clear is that it likely began life in Northern Italy, perhaps most specifically around Belluno. A great blade producing center at the time. Now a small town, there is still a working water powered trip hammer of the type that would have produced this blade not far away in Bienno.

A trip hammer similar to those used for blade forging. From Agricola's "De Re Metallica"

My blade is marked with several elements closely associated with blades produced in this region. Particularly the sickle like marks and the smaller star shaped marks. Groupings of crescent moons are also present.

The blade style, a simple triple fuller configuration with a single edge, was a popular type in the 17th century. Found across the continent and in its basic configuration as at home with a cutler in Solingen as one in Italy. Equally well liked outside of Europe, these blades pop up frequently in India, brought by the Portuguese and mounted in a style known as 'firangi'.

At some point this blade either made its way from Europe, across the Med., or perhaps an even more circuitous route from India across the Red Sea and then into the Sahel. The former is more likely. The blade was perhaps sent overseas as it had reached the end of its working life.

Its present state is certainly very worn. Whatever Sahel smith or cutler got their hands on it mounted it in the traditional way with a large spherical pommel. Decorated on the medial ridge.

The guard has a single brass plate forming a presentation face with typical decorative elements both cutout and engraved.

But the largest change was sharpening the back edge of the blade for most of its length. A thick spine was retained at the base. The result was a flexible and very sharp double edged sword although some of the rigidity and integrity of the blade was lost in the process.

The wear and tear on the edges indicates a long working life and the mounts are perhaps not the first the blade has worn.

This is a very unpretentious blade. It would not grab your eye at first, but beyond its beat up exterior and less than impressive proportions lies the story of a workhorse, spanning multiple continents. I like its honesty. It obviously did the job it was made for well and it is pleasing to see that it found a new life (likely for centuries) in the Sahel.

One of the real joys of collecting antiques is the knowledge that you have in your hands objects with stories behind them. Long years of use and journeys across areas often little known to outsiders. For me, there is a particular sense of history and perspective that metal brings. Iron, steel, brass, all are hard, require skill to form and significant effort to obtain.

There is a certain look and a certain feel to old steel. A worn nature that speaks to long years of service. It is an honest material and each blade I handle has not only the tale of its maker, but each owner through the generations. Be that an edge, sharpened many times, or a pommel worn smooth by a hand gripping the hilt.

I’ve talked before about how some swords and blades are special and their nature is readily apparent once you handle them. The same applies to the look and feel of steel.
Older swords tend to seem the most charismatic. I like to think this is a reflection of the greater travels and experiences the sword has seen, but it more likely simply a romantic notion.

Still, such things deserve respect commiserate with their age. Steel is also a fragile substance. Prone to decay and disintegration.
Swords need a caretaker, otherwise they rust and fade. This is the vital roll a collector plays. A sword, covered in the rust of decades can be restored with merely a little oil, time and hard work. The reward is simple, once the steel is revealed the gleam of history is revealed.

A peculiar and very particular style of takouba exists that differs widely from the usual assortment of trade blade and trade blade influenced designs. Rather than a long, parallel edged design with fullers, the wide bladed takouba is, by contrast, flat, triangular and of purely local manufacture. Termed fatefate in Hausa the style seems to occur in areas with Hausa influence including northern Cameroon.

The style also seems to have a certain connection to local courts and highly organized palace political structures. In the last century than can still be seen in traditional courts, particularly in Cameroon.

This blade is much larger than my other wide blades as this comparison image shows.

The three examples show above show the typical characteristics of the type with wide, flat blades. In comparison to a typical takouba the differences in dimensions are dramatic.

Given the abundance of trade blades and the propensity of Sahel smiths to copy European patterns, the wide blade form stands out as a completely local development. The first assumption would be that these were not combat blades, however examples I have come across are sharp, well made and show signs of use. Instead I think it is far more likely the form is linked to the common practice of large metal currency items. Where the size had a direct correlation to wealth and social position. These swords perhaps express a similar role as symbols of the position of the owner.

In the image above a similar wide bladed takouba is circled being carried by a retainer of the emir of Katsina in 1977. It seems probable these swords were handed down as part of the retainer's position.

The fact this style was retained in the face of treasured and high quality European imports points to a deep tradition and importance associated with wide blades. Perhaps this was the typical form of the sword before imported blades became common.

The flat, wide nature may be the result of smiths working with locally refined ore and devising a shape, that due to the large base was less prone to breakage.

The following image shows the width of my largest example relative to a standard triple fuller blade.

The blades are also usually reasonably thick with with decent flexibility.

The also often exhibit an unusual texture, a rough finish, often with pitting.

The size of these weapons likely relates to a display of the commodity they are made from - iron. Iron was a common currency item, sign of wealth and trade item within the Sahel. These swords then are a living record of the importance of iron and its mark on power and status.